10 Best Places to Go Shopping in St Kitts and Nevis

Port Zante is a cruise terminal and commercial zone in Basseterre that offers shoppers a range of duty-free goods including liquor and watches, plus local crafts and souvenirs. It’s a popular place for arriving cruise ship passengers, sailors and luxury yacht owners to browse for rum, high-end cigars, and brand-name clothing.

The Port Zante complex has more than 60 shops to explore, all within walking distance from the pier. Many retailers at Port Zante specialize in gems and jewelry, including the long-running family-owned Kay’s Fine Jewelry, Noble Jewelers and Gold Mine.

Pelican Plaza is a 2-storey shopping mall set near the pier in Basseterre. This modest-sized mall has a bank, a restaurant, and about 2 dozen shops selling a range of locally made goods, souvenirs, beachwear and duty-free items. You could also stop at the St Kitts Tourism Office on the plaza’s first floor to pick up a free map and visitor guide.  

The plaza opened on Bay Road in 1991 and features a retro shopping arcade design. It’s found just a few minutes’ walk down the road from the National Museum of St Kitts.

Amina Craft Market has a small collection of vendors selling locally made arts and crafts. Here you can find clothing, soaps, essential oils, beach-glass jewelry, pottery, and other unique handmade items with a Caribbean flair.

The Amina Craft Market is found in the shopping zone of Port Zante, not far from the pier. It’s one of the more low-key places to explore in an area better known for its luxury and duty-free stores. Prices are not fixed, so don’t be shy to do a bit of friendly haggling to get a better deal.

The Circus is a traffic circle in downtown Basseterre with a Victorian-style Berkeley Memorial clocktower at the center. It’s an easy-to-spot landmark for visitors browsing the shops of the nearby streets. Wander on foot along such streets as Liverpool Row, Bank Street and Fort Street to find a mix of boutique shops, souvenir stores, restaurants and cafes. 

You’ll find shops selling local products as well as those stocked with imported luxury goods and international brands, anything from cosmetics, shoes and fashion accessories, to T-shirts, jewelry, and handwoven baskets. The Circus, which was named after London’s Piccadilly Circus, is about 500 meters north of Port Zante.

The Marina or Marina Village is a collection of shops and dining spots catering to the yachting community at Christophe Harbor. The harbor is a decidedly high-end area, a development set over a large area with luxury homes and a marina for superyachts. But even those who don’t mingle with celebrities or own luxury yachts could come to explore the village’s boutique shops and art gallery.  

Among the shops to browse are Joya St. Kitts, with boho-style caftans, tunics and tote bags, and Ballast Bay Outfitters, which has water sports and fishing equipment, plus beachwear and sandals for sale.

Caribelle Batik is a shop and studio where you can watch local artisans demonstrate how they make their vivid batik creations. While the batiks have a distinctive Caribbean look, the process of making them has been adapted from the ancient Indonesian dye method. Batik products on sale include dresses, scarves, shirts, sarongs, wall hangings and bags.    

Caribelle Batik is at Romney Manor, a former sugar plantation house with a lovely garden to explore. After shopping, you could stop by the adjacent Rainforest Bar for a refreshing rum punch while overlooking the tropical landscape. If you miss the Romney Manor shop, there’s a smaller Caribelle Batik outlet at Port Zante as well.

Fairview Great House is an 18th-century mansion that is now a historic site surrounded by vast botanical gardens overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The cellar has been converted into a notable gift shop that offers honey from its own apiary, handpainted cards, pottery, and other arts and crafts for sale.

The gift shop is a good place to gather up some mementoes of your visit to the Great House, where there's a host of activities on offer including horseback riding, cooking classes, rum tasting, dining, and day passes to the bathing pool and gardens.

St. Kitts Chocolate Factory is the place to satisfy your sweet cravings with its range of gourmet truffles and soft-centred chocolates made on site. It’s no wonder that St Kitts is home to some sweet treat expertise, given that the island once had numerous sugar plantations, and a few still remain. 

St. Kitts Chocolate Factory uses top-quality Belgian chocolate blended with organic ingredients like nuts and spices to offer a range of chocolatey flavors. Tours of the factory are available, and visitors could even learn how to make their own chocolates with the factory’s expert chocolatier.

Shell Works Boutique is a great spot to meet local artists and see them creating their pieces in its production studio. Find colorful works of art using locally-sourced natural materials including seashells, sugar cane, sand, tree roots, mother of pearl, and driftwood. There are also prints and art pieces from other local artists for sale in the gift shop.   

Shell Works is found at Palms Court Garden, a private garden with a restaurant, bar and bathing pool about 1.5 km west of Port Zante. If you’ve had enough of shopping, you could linger on here and spend the afternoon lounging by the pool, with day passes available.

NewCastle Pottery is a small factory and shop found near the airport on Nevis island. Visitors can watch pottery makers in action using traditional techniques from Africa passed down through the generations. Items such as vases, candle holders, dishes and lawn bowling are made with locally-sourced clay and fired on coconut shells.

NewCastle Pottery has been around for well over 3 decades and it remains a coveted choice for those seeking quality local crafts that highlight the culture and heritage of St Kitts.